Intramuros Learning Sessions episode no. 9
Overview
This year marks the 75th year of the most horrific crime in Philippine history – the sack of Manila from February 3 to March 3, 1945 by the Imperial Japanese Forces. No other conflict or event in our history comes close in terms of atrocity and savagery, in the number of deaths and casualties, the extent of destruction to property, and the loss of cultural heritage. Manila was the most destroyed city in the Pacific. An estimated 100,000 civilians were killed during the battle in the most atrocious ways, which makes one ask what military objective was attained by the mass slaughter of hapless, innocent civilians? Join us on May 27, Wed, 8pm as we talk about the Battle of Manila with special focus on the Intramuros experience. We will be joined by experts Dr. Ricardo Jose of the UP Diliman History Department, Des Benipayo of Memorare Manila 1945 and the Philippine World War II Memorial Foundation, and James Scott – author of RAMPAGE: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila.
- Guest speakers: Ricard Jose, Ph.D., James Scott
- Moderators: Desiree Ann Cua Benipayo
About the Speakers
Ricardo Jose, Ph.D.
Dr. Ricardo Jose is a Professor of History at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He has a BA and an MA in History from the University of the Philippines, and a Ph.D. in History from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
He authored The Philippine Army, 1935-1942 and Volume 7 of Kasaysayan. His accolades include: Outstanding Young Scientist Award in the field of social sciences, 1997; Gawad Chancellor Para sa Natatanging Guro, 2011; Batobalani Many Faces of a Teacher Award, 2018; and Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipino in Teaching, 2019.
James Scott
A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Dr. James M. Scott is the author of Rampage, which was named one of the Best Books of 2018 by the editors at Amazon, Kirkus and Military Times and was chosen as a finalist for the prestigious Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History by the New York Historical Society. He also authored “The War Below,” “The Attack on the Liberty, ” and “Target Tokyo,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History.
Desiree Ann Cua Benipayo
Desiree Ann Cua Benipayo is a writer and film producer. She is currently the Vice President for Research and Education at the Philippine World War II Memorial Foundation, and the Secretary at the Memorare Manila 1945.
Ms. Benipayo is author of Honor: The Legacy of Jose Abad Santos, which was recently awarded Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in English in the 2019 National Book Awards. Ms. Benipayo, together with her husband, also produced a film documentary adaptation of her book, which received an “A” rating by the Philippine Cinema Evaluation Board.
About the moderator: Rancho Arcilla
John Paul Escandor Arcilla, known professionally as Rancho Arcilla, is the author of the Intramuros Register of Styles (2021). He served as Chairperson of the Intramuros Technical Committee on Architectural Standards (TCAS) from June 2022 to May 2024. As TCAS Chairperson, Arcilla oversaw the review of all development, including new constructions, in the Walled City.
Arcilla was also the first Archivist of the Intramuros Administration. With a mandate from Atty. Guiller Asido, Administrator of Intramuros from 2017 to 2022, Arcilla established the Administration’s Archives and Central Records Section, serving as its first Section Head from July 2019 to June 2024.
He has an MA in Philippine Studies from UP Diliman and a BA in Asian Studies from the University of Santo Tomas. Arcilla specializes on colonial architecture.
In 2021, Arcilla was instrumental in the development of the Revised 2021 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Presidential Decree No. 1616, the main framework and legal instrument in the management of Intramuros District. The architectural provisions of the IRR and the Intramuros Register of Styles (2021) is based on his MA thesis Walls within Walls: The Architecture of Intramuros (2021).
About the Intramuros Learning Sessions
The Intramuros Learning Sessions (ILS) is the educational lecture series of the Intramuros Administration (IA). The IA is an attached national government agency under the Department of Tourism.
Topics are interdisciplinary and cover themes related to Intramuros and Manila studies, Philippine studies, as well as cultural heritage studies. Pursuant to IA’s charter, the ILS aims to contribute to the strengthening of the Filipino’s national identity and sense of belonging and pride.
| See Previous ILS Episode A History of Informal Housing in Intramuros | See Next ILS Episode Branding and Design for Heritage and Cultural Institutions |
Check out our previous ILS episodes here
For more information contact the Center for Intramuros Studies via [email protected]
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